Fewer EU students have applied to start university courses in the UK next autumn including at Cambridge University , figures show.

According to admissions service UCAS, there was a 9 per cent fall in the numbers who had applied for courses with an early deadline of October 15.

The drop comes in the wake of the Brexit vote, which caused uncertainty over whether or not EU students applying to start courses at English institutions in September 2017 would be eligible for loans and grants in the future.

Ministers announced on October 11 - four days before the early application deadline - that these students will be able to access funding for the duration of their degree.

This arrangement will be honoured even if the UK leaves the EU during this time.

The UCAS statistics take into account only students who applied for medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses, as well as those applying to Oxford and Cambridge.

The Grand Courtyard of St John's College, Trinity College, Senate House and the Old Schools, Gonville Caius College and Kings College Chapel. (Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire)

Overall, the number of UK students applying by October 15 rose by 3 per cent to 39,440, while applications from EU students fell from 6,860 to 6,240 - a fall of 9 per cent, and ending a trend of annual increases in recent years.

Applicant numbers from students in countries outside the EU rose by 1 per cent, the figures show.

The data also reveals that while the number of English 18-year-olds applying to study medicine has risen by 5 per cent; overall there was a 4 per cent drop in applications compared to last year, with 19,210 applying for courses starting in autumn 2017.

A Cambridge University spokesman said: “Overall, applications to Cambridge have increased on last year.

“We are disappointed to see a reduction in EU undergraduate application numbers on last year, which reflects the considerable uncertainty felt by these students due to the EU Referendum.

"But we still received more applications from the EU this year than we did in 2012, and Cambridge remains an attractive place for EU students to study at.”

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Earlier this month, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to train up to 1,500 more doctors a year in a bid to tackle the recruitment crisis and make NHS England ''self-sufficient'' in doctors by the middle of the next decade.

Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS chief executive, said: "This is an encouraging increase in applicants to the October deadline courses, particularly given the 2 per cent decrease in the 18-year-old population.

"We will be watching the numbers of EU applications in the run-up to the January deadline, especially now that the Government has confirmed arrangements for continuing access to student loans for 2017 courses."

The main UCAS deadline for students applying to study courses from next autumn is January 15.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "Only a small percentage of applicants apply by this date and we must wait until the main January deadline before we see the full picture for this application cycle.

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"We know that demand from overseas for UK university courses remains strong due to the high quality of British universities.

"This fall does, however, highlight the importance of ensuring that prospective European applicants are made fully aware of the fees and financial support arrangements well in advance of the applications window.

"It is important also that we make clear that European students continue to be welcome in coming to the UK to study."